Week 5: Student Response to Discussion 1

WednesdayApr 25 at 12:32pm

Manage Discussion Entry

In “cooperating with the Government,” the two prisoners held two officers hostage with prison-made weapons. The Government made a phone call to the state to inform them not give away specific data. The state agreed and held off on releasing the names and other essential evidence. There are many risks the state wanted to take because they tried to report everything. However, I do not consider this safe or reasonable. There are many ways ethics are challenged in this case, for example, for this particular situation if there are hostages, which are considered threatened lives, the state should listen to the Government and do not state any names or any other sources that is taking place at the prison. Therefore, the state should wait out the detrimental circumstance and do not publish the story as they considered. I think it is smart to close off the scene and block the reporters from receiving any information they can release. Furthermore, freedom of speech is challenging because the state wants to release information, but the Government told them to hold off on particular reports. The Government is protecting the prisoners, their families, and most importantly the guard's lives. The Government also worried that there would be foil negotiations towards the inmates. I believe this can make the inmates halt or make them more aggressive in the given situation. The state can attempt to negotiate, and their challenged speech can make the convicts feel more exposed, which the two of them will immediately make an unethical decision.

Tolanda

Reference

Society of Professional Journalists. (2011). Ethics Case Studies: cooperating with the government (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.. Retrieved from http://www.spj.org/ecs1.asp